Girls from da Hood 13

by Ms. Michel Moore

  “You’re probably right.” He still didn’t seem all the way persuaded to calm down. Quiet for a few seconds in deep thought, when he spoke again his words made me ready to react. “He did drop the dime on Felix’s chick, though. Ol’ girl Naughty who was dancing on you that night to help lure Felix over, people talking about she left the city or disappeared. I think we should cruise by her crib and check out the scene to see what’s up for ourselves.”

  “Oh, so now you know where the bitch lives at?” I got jealous immediately. The first thought that crossed my mind was that he’d tricked with her before, after a night at the bar with Jerell. The second thing I wondered was why we hadn’t ridden out to her spot to see what was popping.

  “Calm down, girl. You know I followed every move Felix made days leading up to murdering him. It’s cute that you’re jealous, but this ain’t the time.” Voodo seemed slightly annoyed by me trying to snap on him.

  “That’s my bad.” I took a cop, feeling foolish that I’d even popped off. He was absolutely right. This wasn’t the time to trip on him even if I thought he was up to no good. “Anyway, you already know we can go check out the scene. Pull the meat off the grill and give me fifteen minutes to get dressed.”

  * * *

  Sitting in front of Naughty’s apartment, we were waiting and watching for any movement. Voodo said that ol’ boy told him folks were saying she left the city, but we were trying to confirm that. I wasn’t really worried about the guy or this chick, because the cops would’ve beaten down our door if she’d snitched us out. Just like everyone else who was staying tightlipped and not getting mixed up in some shit that could get them killed, I was almost sure she didn’t want any part of my and Voodo’s wrath. Regardless of my feelings, though, we needed proof in order to feel settled.

  Naughty

  At first I thought I could mentally handle Felix’s death, but it’d been eating me up inside. I wasn’t sure if it was because his family kept leaving voicemails asking for cash to help bury him, or if not dropping the dime on Voodo, Moni, and ol’ boy was eating me up because Felix’s killers were still living free. That night kept playing over and over in my head, and being honest, I felt partially responsible for the love of my life being taken up out of the game.

  He’d been begging me to quit stripping for months since we’d hooked up, but I loved my grind and money too much. With rent alone topping $1,000, my credit card bills almost maxed out, and a shopping habit like crackheads fiend at the last of the month, twirling on the pole and twerking for my lifestyle was a must. My love for the hustle and his love for me were the reasons he’d been caught slipping. Strapped with anxiety, sorrow, and worry from thinking retaliation would be brought to my doorstep, the only solution I could think of was to break free from Detroit for a long-term vacation.

  “What up, cousin? Do those cats down there tip heavy? I might be looking to make a move.” Finally getting an answer from my stripper cousin, I was trying to check on how the dancing business was treating her down South. With the heat turned up in Detroit, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to grind on the pole here anymore. Hell, as of now I was too scared to walk out of my front door.

  “I ain’t struggling to eat out here, ya feel me? What’s going on up there? Them cats acting stingy with their coins, or has the city dried up of hustlers?”

  “Yeah, something like that.” I didn’t want to get into details over the phone. “I’m kind of down on my luck here. A bitch gotta get up out of here fast before I dry up even further. Is your club hiring dancers?”

  “I can get the manager to give you an audition. The rest is on you. I can’t completely nurse no bitch’s hustle with mine fully on the table,” she honestly responded, willing to help me but with limited conditions.

  “That’s what’s up. I might need a place to crash, too, just ’til I get my bread up,” I said, pushing my luck.

  “Uh naw, you know I can’t let no bad bitch lie up,” she laughed. “But there’s a Motel 7 up the street from the club. The best I can do on that tip is let you bum a ride. Don’t be salty, ’cause you know this is how I gotta play it.”

  “It’s cool. I guess a bitch can’t be choosy, but damn, they ain’t got no Holiday Inn down there at least? I can’t be slumming it!” Shaking my head, I said a silent prayer to Felix for him to cover my back. I was trying not to be secretly pissed at him for leaving me on this cold earth alone, but since he’d gotten murked for snitching and trying to be tough fronting Voodo off, how else was I supposed to feel?

  “Yeah um, as a matter of fact, you can stay at the Ritz-Carlton, popping champagne for all I care. You just won’t be prancing all up and through my condo for my nigga to get any bright ideas. Hit me up when you touch down, though, ’cause I got you on the job tip.”

  I wasn’t mad at my cousin. She was keeping it real with me. We both used our bodies to get cash and make things happen. She could and should consider me a threat. “Cool. I’m about to be on the next plane out of here. The D is mad hot!” Geeked as hell, I was finally starting to feel like I had a chance to get back out here right.

  Suddenly there were several loud knocks on the door followed by shouting voices. “Detroit Police. We’re looking for a Miss Nina Sanders! We know you’re in there. Open up! If you don’t, we’ll be forced to kick the door in.”

  Jumping up from the couch, I quickly looked around the room for somewhere to hide. What in the fuck did they want with me? I knew these niggas weren’t about to blame me for Felix’s death! Not wanting to open the door, I was backed up against the wall. Sounds of an Empire rerun played over the TV’s factory speakers, as my cousin kept yelling, “Hello?” into the phone. I knew them slick cocksuckers were standing by the door, listening to my conversation. What in the hell was I going to do now?

  Moni

  Naughty’s apartment might’ve been still with movement from her, but it wasn’t still from visitors. At least two strippers came by within the time we’d posted up, yet they left without anyone answering the door or cracking open the blinds. That didn’t move us, though. Whether she’d left the city or was just hiding out still hadn’t been confirmed.

  “Do you want me to break in and see if she’s in there, Voodo? If so, you know I’ll snap her neck within a matter of minutes. And if she isn’t, I’ll sneak back out.” I was growing slightly impatient. At first I wasn’t concerned about Felix’s death biting us in the ass after setting the club on fire, but for some reason, my gut was starting to make me feel slightly nervous.

  “Put a hold on your thuggish ways, baby love,” he chuckled. “You know real bad boys move in silence, and we can’t make any more rash decisions. If she’s in there on alert waiting for one of us to run up and happens to put a cap in you first, we’re fucked. We’re doing what’s best right about now.”

  My only response was a nod in agreement. I knew Voodo was right, but I wanted everything surrounding that robbery and murder to be over. So much so that I wasn’t thinking clearly. We’d never had one of our crimes taunt us like this one was doing.

  “Shoot a move right quick to the store so I can grab another pack of blunts. We can blaze through at least another one before heading back to the crib.” Voodo leaned back in the passenger seat.

  “Are you sure you want to make a move? We might miss something.”

  “Yeah. I know her crib has been dry for the last couple of hours, but I want to stake it out for a few more. I can’t do that without having something to blaze up. And you obviously need something to calm your nerves as well.”

  I pulled off toward the store so he could grab the Cigarillos plus a few snacks for us to nibble on to get by. Neither of us had eaten, since the meat he was grilling wasn’t done by the time we’d left home. My stomach was grumbling like a homeless man’s. I couldn’t wait to get within the comfort of our home and smash out.

  We were only gone from watching Naughty’s apartment complex for about ten minutes, but that’s all the time it took for the whole scene
to change. There was a police car parked directly outside, a few feet from where we once were.

  “Look what we have here.” I pulled into a parking spot a few complexes away from the one Naughty rented in. It was a good thing we’d gotten a new vehicle so no one would be checking for it. The Yukon had been involved in many of our actions of corruption, so Voodo felt it was necessary to have it totaled. We were now whipping a silver truck.

  “Yup, it looks like us and those strippers aren’t the only people checking for Naughty. Let’s see how this all plays out.”

  We sat, waited, and watched. It didn’t long for both of us to shake our heads, totally disturbed about what we were witnessing. Naughty was being escorted willingly out of her complex by two cops. Dressed in a baseball cap, oversized shades, and wrinkled clothes, she kept looking around frantically like she was worried about someone seeing her. She should’ve been. From what it seemed like, Naughty wasn’t under arrest but working with the boys in blue, just like her boyfriend Felix had been.

  “Let’s get out of here and to the crib. We need to pack and lie low for a couple of days at a hotel or something, until whatever her snitching ass tells the cops unfolds in the streets,” Voodo instructed. “I’m about to call Jerell and put him up on everything so he can watch his back as well.”

  “All right, babe.” I swiftly followed his directions.

  Chapter Nine

  Voodo

  Packing a few outfits, shoes, a couple of pistols, and most importantly all the product and cash I’d swiped from Felix, my luggage was by the front door. Once Moni got done getting everything she needed together, we’d head out to go check in at the hotel. My plan was for us to stay low-key until I saw exactly what was going to happen with Naughty. Me not taking her out of the game initially was a slipup that I’d made, but I never thought her money-hungry ass would snitch. Apparently, I was hella wrong. Her walking with the cops was all the confirmation I needed to know she always deserved the same treatment as Felix. Because of me breaking a cardinal rule of the game, all of us could possibly be screwed. It was up to me to at least make sure Moni’s and Jerell’s freedom was spared if at all possible. Unbeknownst to Moni, I’d already put a plan in motion.

  I paced my living room back and forth, from looking out the window to checking the time on my Rolex watch. I hated the feeling of nervousness. The information Naughty knew about that night was enough for the police to issue arrests for all three of us. I swore on Alexis that if they pulled up with the intention of dragging me and Moni out of here, I’d go down spraying bullets. “Hurry up, Moni babe. I’m sure we can buy whatever you don’t have packed.”

  “I’m ready, Voodo.” She finally came out of the bedroom we shared with enough baggage to last her a year. Women could never travel lightly.

  Locking up and leaving out the back, we didn’t want any of the neighbors to see us exiting with luggage. For one, if the wrong person was watching us, they would break in knowing our house wouldn’t be secure for days. And for two, if the police did come snooping, we didn’t want them to know we were one step ahead of them. From this point on, I was trying to stay on my toes as opposed to giving motherfuckas chances to screw me first.

  Moni’s best friend Unique checked us into the Atheneum Suite Hotel near Greektown Casino in downtown Detroit. We paid her a full grand and promised a grand more if she remained loyal and silent. Although I was wary about trusting anyone, I felt a little at ease that she turned down the extra grand, saying we were family and she’d always have Moni’s back. In addition to that, she already knew how her best friend got down and never breathed a word before.

  “This suite is nice as hell. I wish we could fully relax and take advantage of having a break from the hood.” Moni fell back onto the pillow-soft king-sized bed.

  “We might can’t relax all the way, but I’m sure there will be times none of this mess will be on our minds.” I hinted toward when we’d have sex. “Don’t get me wrong, this is fucked up, and I know playing the waiting game to see what will pop off ain’t no vacation. Nevertheless, you deserve a break from the home front and so do I. We’ll be getting freaky in the Jacuzzi, maybe hitting the casino for a few table games late at night, and drinking the best champagne this hotel has to offer, while fucking in this top-of-the-line bed.” I lay down beside her.

  “As nice as all of that sounds, Voodo, what if that bitch snitches us out? I mean, she wasn’t handcuffed while getting escorted to the cop car. That means she wasn’t under arrest or forced to go. I don’t want to get too far gone enjoying this getaway when we really need to be pulling off a real getaway.” Moni sounded worried.

  “Jerell is watching her crib as we speak. As soon as she returns, he’ll be touching base with me. If Naughty does talk, we’ll be making sure her testimony never makes it to court. They can’t make charges stick to us if the witness disappears.”

  “You always think of everything, don’t you?”

  “That’s what a nigga from the hood involved in crime does, baby love.”

  She rolled over and mounted me. My dick grew hard instantly. It was time to fuck Moni’s brains out so we could both release some endorphins and feel a little more at ease.

  Officer Hubbard

  Stepping into the interrogation room with a Faygo orange pop, a bag of chips, and a candy bar as requested by Nina, I was burning with anticipation to question her as our witness. I knew she was holding on to pertinent information when she hesitated to open the door, making us threaten to kick it down at her apartment.

  “Tell me everything you know surrounding your boyfriend’s death, Nina,” I said as I sat down across from the stripper I knew was hiding something.

  “Like I told you at the apartment, I don’t know anything.” She moved her hands off the table into her lap.

  “Come on now, Nina. I know you’re a headliner at the Ace of Spades, and I also know that Felix, Jeffery, and David were all there the night of their murder. We know pandemonium broke out and gunshots were fired. So maybe we should start there. Tell me about that night.” Letting her know I knew bits and pieces of what went down that night, I was hoping that was enough for her to bite the bait and get to talking. After speaking with a couple of the strippers who worked that night who had warrants, they stuck to their stories but said Naughty for sure knew who murdered Felix and his crew.

  She took a deep breath then looked away. After about ten seconds of silence, she began talking. “Yeah, I worked that night. I work damn near every night the doors are open. I’m a hustler.” She paused then continued. “Felix couldn’t handle that. He hated men to eye fuck me, touch me, and say crude things to me. So much so that he wanted me to quit stripping. But you know a hustler never gives up their only means of survival. Anyway, he came to the club each night to monitor how far my hustle would go.

  “That particular night, he watched me dance the stage and for a few guys wanting private dances in their booths. One minute I could see him across the room staring at me in disgust, and the next minute I couldn’t find him. But that didn’t stop me from hustling, Officer. The only thing that stopped me from hustling was the gunshots that rung out. So yeah, there was pandemonium of course. The whole club was trying to find the closest exit. I was among the runners. I didn’t have time to scope out where Felix was at.”

  “So you don’t know what caused the pandemonium?”

  “Nope,” she replied without blinking an eye.

  “You didn’t see anything out of the ordinary?”

  “Not at all, Officer.”

  Rubbing my temples, frustrated with the game she was playing, I knew her story was fabricated. This interrogation was gonna take longer than I thought. “Would you consider Felix having a confrontation or argument with someone something out of the ordinary?”

  “Come on now, Officer. You and I both know Felix made his money in the streets and had a lot of enemies. That’s why he was working with you guys as an informant. Him having a confrontation or argume
nt wasn’t something odd. It was part of his daily routine. But now that we’re speaking on that, wasn’t an exchange of protection from y’all part of his agreement to be a snitch? If y’all would’ve had undercover cops watching his every move like the captain promised, I wouldn’t be in here getting grilled. And my boyfriend would fa’damn sure still be alive,” she smartly commented, looking me square in the eyes.

  Initially, Nina didn’t have courage and was afraid to speak with us. Now she was attacking me and blaming the entire squad for his death. I couldn’t lie. Her words caught me off guard and had me thinking. They must’ve had my partner thinking too, because he excused himself from the interrogation room. We were supposed to protect Felix by tailing his every move since he was an informant. Nina was absolutely correct. He might’ve been alive if the captain had made sure everyone was doing their jobs. But the truth was, all we wanted was Felix’s information. We really didn’t care about his life as a man hustling in the urban neighborhoods of Detroit.

  Despite her throwing me for a loop, I had to keep my game face on. “I’m going to ask you one final time, Nina, because two people have made statements that you know who killed Felix Carter and those other two men.”

  “Well, since you put it like that, this will be final time that I’ll tell you I don’t know. The first time I knew trouble had found Felix and his friends was when the news reported it. If that’ll be all and you’re not formally pressing charges, I’d like to be sent home by taxi.”

  Moni

  “Fuck me harder. Pull my hair. Give it to me, daddy,” I screamed into the pillow. Voodo wasn’t having an ounce of mercy on me, and I knew exactly why. He wanted me to forget about everything going on outside of our hotel room so I wouldn’t be stressed or worried. It was partially working.